Cooperative medulloblastoma trial med 84 of the German Society of Pediatric Oncology (GPO) and the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) (BMFT 01 ZP 034)

Abstract

In study COSS-80 113 evaluable patients (pts) received neoadjuvant preoperative chemotherapy (prop CT) with highdose methotrexate (HD-MTX), doxorubicine (DOX) and either cisplatinum (DDP) or the triple drug combination bleomy-cine&cyclophosphamide&dactinomycine (BCD). Half of the pts received in addition fibroblast interferon following surgery in wk 12. The degree to which the histologic grade of tumor cell destruction (TCD) after prop CT correlates with freedom from metastatic disease was studied. By regression analysis according to the Cox' model, we found the following characteristics to be significant risk factors: poor response (TCD ~ 90%) to prop CT (p = .006), tumor size of > i/3 of involved bone (p = .013) and en bloc resection as opposed to more radical surgical procedures (p = .03).